Digital Commons Network^™

Genetic Variants In Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway Associated With Pediatric Immune Thrombocytopenia, Taylor Olmsted Kim, Jennifer M Geris, Jonathan M Flanagan, Rachael F Grace, Michele P Lambert, Candelaria O'Farrell, Melissa J Rose, Kristin A Shimano, Omar Niss, Cindy Neunert, Taizo A Nakano, Derek Macmath, Bogdan Dinu, Susan E Kirk, Ellis J Neufeld, Jenny M Despotovic, Michael E Scheurer, Amanda B Grimes

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Through the use of genetic sequencing, molecular variants driving autoimmunity are increasingly identified in patients with chronic and refractory immune cytopenias. With the goal of discovering genetic variants that predispose to pediatric immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) or increase risk for chronic disease, we conducted a genome-wide association study in a large multi-institutional cohort of pediatric patients with ITP. A total of 591 patients were genotyped using an Illumina Global Screening Array BeadChip. Six variants met genome-wide significance in comparison between children with ITP and a cohort of healthy children. One variant in NAV2 was inversely associated with ITP (adjusted odds ratio …

Challenges, Coping Strategies, And Benefits Of Animal-Assisted Crisis Response Following Disasters And Traumatic Events, Yvonne M. Eaton-Stull, Batya G. Jaffe, Kay Scott, Makenzie Shiller

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Animal-assisted crisis response (AACR) is an innovative intervention whereby highly trained comfort dogs offer support in the aftermath of disasters and traumatic events. This qualitative cross-sectional exploratory study investigated the experiences of specialized, experienced AACR handlers. A snowball sampling yielded 99 experienced responders who completed an anonymous electronic survey. Data was analyzed using a qualitative coding process with Atlas.ti. This study explored emotional challenges, handlers’ coping strategies, and benefits provided by the AACR comfort dog. Forty-eight percent of AACR handlers saw human-made crises as the most challenging deployments. Seventy-two percent of handlers rated their distress during a deployment a 3, …

Effectiveness Of The Well-Being Path Program In Supporting Student Retention And College Completion, Vanessa Natasaha Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student retention at the study site community college had decreased, which negatively impacted funding. Increased student support that incorporates elements of the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA) model could improve retention rates. This mixed-methods case study examined the effectiveness of a mentoring program called the Well-Being Path Program (Path) at the community college, which incorporated elements of Seligman’s PERMA model. The data used for this study consisted of student exit surveys and the community college’s institutional enrollment, retention, and transfer data. Results showed that Path students had a higher average grade point average and transfer rate than …

A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial Of A Smartphone-Based Application To Support At-Home Psa Screening And Culturally Tailored Prostate Cancer Education For African American Men: A Study Protocol, Jordan Neil, Bingjing Mao, Ruosi Shao, E. Ogunsanya Motolani, Summer Frank-Pearce, Michael Businelle, Michael Cookson, Kelly Stratton, Mark Doescher, Stephanie Pharr, Valerie Moise, Brianna Fleshman, Jack Fronheiser, Kimberly Estrada, Iván Flores, David Bradley, Ashley Kendrick, Adam C. Alexander

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Black/African American men (AA) and the second‑leading cause of cancer-related deaths. A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is an early detection screening tool for prostate cancer, but uptake of PSA screening remains low among AA men. Greater PSA screening rates among AA men, coupled with earlier treatment, may reduce disparities in prostate cancer outcomes, including mortality. The current pilot study will test the first-of-its-kind mobile health (mHealth) app to improve prostate cancer knowledge and increase PSA screening uptake among AA men using home-based screening methods. Methods: AA men aged 55 to …

Rising Temperatures, The Prison Litigation Reform Act, And The Heat Death Of Human Dignity In Texas Prisons, Brianne Wylie

Northwestern University Law Review

This Note seeks to shed light on the life-threatening danger of extreme heat in un-air-conditioned Texas prisons. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) starkly limits the relief available to those suffering and dying in these prisons. This Note proposes an amendment to the legislation that could create a path toward lasting relief for incarcerated people. After analyzing the effects of increasing heat on the particularly vulnerable prison population, this Note analyzes how the Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit have handled claims alleging constitutionally violative prison conditions under the Eighth Amendment—in short, ineffectively, if at all. This Note then details …

It’S Complicated: The Level Of Risk Assigned To A Missing Person, Time They Were Missing For, And The Tasks Performed By Police Investigators., Karen Shalev, Craig Collie

International Journal of Missing Persons

This study examines the number of tasks police investigators perform by the level of risk assigned to cases and the length of time the investigations take to resolve. It analyses 40,091 solved cases from 2019 using data from eight English police forces, as part of a wider research project of missing person investigations demand on police resources. The findings show that (1) low and high risk with a search area cases have a relationship to the duration of the investigation; (2) there is a relationship between the risk classification and the number of tasks assigned to the case; (3) the …

An Exploration Into Why There Is An Overrepresentation Of Bame People In Missing Person Cases, Phoebe Sleigh-Johnson, Fiona Gabbert Dr., Adrian J. Scott

International Journal of Missing Persons

The overrepresentation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in missing person cases is an issue that is not understood within society and has largely been neglected within academic literature to date. This study, therefore, aims to explore why this overrepresentation might exist by obtaining the views and opinions of 24 professionals (including police officers) working within the field of missing people. The study used a qualitative, exploratory method and an anonymous online survey containing a series of open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was performed on the data, and three main themes were identified; the first related to the idea …

Supporting & Protecting Repeat Missing Children From Different Residential Environments: A Scoping Review, Kirsty Bennett Dr, Petra Salisbury, Rebecca O'Keefe, Sharon Vincent, Bethany Mccarthy

International Journal of Missing Persons

Repeat missing children pose a significant financial burden onto services, including the police, social services, and health providers. Recognising that 37 to 65 percent of missing child reports each year are repeats, efforts have been made by academics and practitioners to understand this societal problem. Research has identified the risks causing children to go missing and the harms that they experience, but these focus primarily on children missing from residential care only. This PRISMA (2020) scoping review of 76 studies explores strategies implemented to prevent repeat missing episodes, and the role/influence of the home environment (e.g., with parents/guardians, and foster …

Tumor-Associated Edema In Children With Kaposi Sarcoma: 14 Years' Experience At Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi, Fatsani Rose Manase, Allison Silverstein, William Kamiyango, Jimmy Villiera, Clement Dziwe, Claudia Wallrauch, Tom Heller, Mark Zobeck, Tamiwe Tomoka, Michael E Scheurer, Carl E Allen, Nmazuo Ozuah, Rizine Mzikamanda, Nader Kim El-Mallawany, Casey L Mcatee

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background/objectives: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a common lymphatic endothelial cancer among children with and without HIV in central and eastern Africa. Despite its clinical heterogeneity, its various clinical phenotypes are often grouped together in staging and treatment algorithms. Patients with KS tumor-associated edema, referring to hard, non-pitting lesions which often lead to chronic disability, represent a unique, understudied subgroup of children with KS. To continue our work defining the distinct phenotypes of pediatric KS, this study aimed to assess the clinical progression and outcomes of KS edema in children.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Kamuzu Central Hospital …

Communication Resilience In Suicide Prevention (Crisp): An Institutional Ethnography Of Community-Based Suicide Prevention In Florida, Kelli R. Agrawal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of Communication Resilience in Suicide Prevention (CRISP) offers a conceptual framework for exploring communication strategies in community-based suicide prevention. A constructivist paradigm informs this study and utilizes an approach heavily influenced by Dorothy Smith’s critical feminist sociological work of institutional ethnography (IE). The study intentionally interweaves critical research praxis with a dual etic/emic positionality through constructivist understandings of dialectical sensemaking. It uses the Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR) and Institutional Logics Theory (ILT) as analytic tools of inquiry. The study includes purposive sampling and multiple qualitative methods, including unstructured interviews, text analyses, and observational data. Fifteen unstructured interviews …

Policy Outcomes Of Culturally Integrated Health Care For African Americans, Victoria Aderin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite advancements in integrated care, persistent health care disparities and systemic barriers continue to contribute to poor health outcomes among African Americans. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the implementation of culturally integrated behavioral health care within the context of African American experiences, focusing on health care access and quality through a public policy lens. The study was informed by Ostrom's institutional analysis and development framework, health equity framework developed by the nonprofit organization Education Training & Research, and Hankivisky's intersectionality-based policy analysis. To gather data, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 African American adults who receive …

Retention Strategies For Trained Criminal Investigators In The Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jacqueline Edwards-Blackwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been faced with the challenge of having their trained criminal investigators voluntarily leave. This study explored factors that could make these detectives leave the JCF and strategies to retain them. The job embeddedness theory was used to better understand the factors that would make these specialists stay in the JCF. A qualitative single case study design was employed using a purposive sample of 15 participants responding to an anonymous online qualitative survey using Google Forms and 15 redacted exit interview forms completed by former detectives. The survey utilized three closed-ended and 14 open-ended questions …

Performance-Based Funding Models And Student Outcomes At Community And Technical Colleges, Victoria Ichungwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Performance-based funding (PBF) models have become increasingly prevalent in higher education. While designed to improve student outcomes, their effectiveness, particularly at community and technical colleges (CTCs), remains uncertain. Given CTCs' crucial role in providing equitable education, understanding PBF’s effectiveness is imperative for equitable funding. In this study the relationship between the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI) model and student outcomes at the Washington State CTCs was examined. Existing research on PBF is limited, often focusing on 4-year institutions and lagging outcomes using proxy data. These gaps were addressed by examining student outcomes for the 34 Washington State CTCs using secondary archival …

Four Decades, Three Songs, Too Much Violence: Using Popular Culture Media Analysis To Prepare Preservice Teachers For Dealing With School Violence, Edward Janak, Lisa Pescara-Kovach

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Since teacher education has morphed from normal schools into colleges of education, the goals of preparing teachers have expanded. While it is essential to prepare teachers to utilize scientifically proven methods as well as to read and use research in the field, there are ever-expanding other goals that must be met as well. For one example, with the increase of school violence taking place in the United States, it is imperative to include preparation for preservice teachers on how to prevent bullying and how to handle traumatic events, such as school shootings, with their future students. However, broaching such a …

Forecasting The Promotion Rate For Women In The U.S. Senior Foreign Service, Jodi Wynn Erickson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite efforts worldwide to increase diversity, women continue to be underrepresented in the most senior leadership and management positions. The aim of this study was to provide insight into whether specific variables increased female representation at the most senior levels of the U.S. Foreign Service. A quantitative correlational study was completed using an autoregressive integrated moving average model in SPSS. Following that, time series forecasts were run in SPSS and AI generated in Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, to create a forecast for the female promotion rate in the Senior Foreign Service (the equivalent of the Senior Executive Service) within …

Health Outcomes Reported By Healthcare Providers And Clients Of A Community-Based Medically Tailored Meal Program, Jessica M Sautter, Jule Anne Henstenburg, Adrian Glass Crafford, Ian Rowe-Nicholls, Victor S Diaz, Kaitlyn Ann Bartholomew, Julia S Evans, Maria R Johnson, Jeffrey Zhou, Deeksha Ajeya

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Medically tailored meal (MTM) programs provide home-delivered meals to people living with serious illness and poor nutritional status. Client outcome studies have found evidence of decreased healthcare utilization and cost savings associated with MTM program participation, and inconclusive evidence of change in health measures. The purpose of this study was to use a novel observational framework to describe the client profile and change in health outcomes using routinely collected health and program data from a community-based MTM program at MANNA (Philadelphia, PA).

METHODS: Clients reported their self-rated health and experiences of food insecurity and malnutrition. Healthcare providers reported clients' …

Relationship Between Social Media And Acts Of Domestic Terrorism And Extremism, Winford Rochelle Craig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After 9/11, domestic terrorism began to evolve in the United States and technological advances and the usage of social media (SM) increased exponentially. During the same era, technological advancement intensified and SM became one primary method of communication between extremists. SM has infiltrated into multiple segments of society, and became a method of transference of ideology, to the population of the United States. Domestic violent extremism (DVE) groups used SM to indoctrinate, train, and recruit individuals throughout the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between the increased usage of SM and the rise …

Restoring And Improving Senior Citizens' Trust In Water Safety In Flint, Michigan, Jessica Nichole Burt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Trust can be defined as a belief in truth, hope, or simply the idea that a person or group has the best interest or ability of the next party. During the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, trust significantly impacted how a person or group perceived the person deemed dependable when decisions made impacted their life. The purpose of this study was to explore senior citizens' experiences and perceptions and make recommendations for restoring the public's confidence in water safety in Flint, Michigan, which has been fragmented within the minority senior community. A qualitative case study was designed by using interviews to …

Getting Through A Dual Pandemic: Hardship And Social Resiliency In A Cambodian American Community, Carolyn Wong, Sothea Chiemruom, Chrisna Khuon, Curtis Mai, Sokha Eng, Go Sasaki, Sochantrea Song, Sophia Sar, Sreang Heng, Chantha Thang, Nikola Kovacevic

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

In cities and towns across the United States, Asian Americans experienced the early 2020s health crisis as a dual pandemic of COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism. In Lowell, a large proportion of Cambodian American residents live in multi-generational households and are employed in working-class occupations with a high risk of exposure to the coronavirus. For this and other reasons, the pandemic had especially serious health and financial consequences for many members of the Cambodian American community. These pandemic challenges in Lowell mounted when a nationwide surge of anti-Asian racism swept through the city and surrounding areas.

Little information has been reported …

Active Ageing : Pension System And Older Workers Policies In Hong Kong And Japan, Hin Yau Tsang

SOC 605 Comparative Social Policy Research Project - Student Works

Since the growing trend of aging is now a threat around the globe, there is more and more attention being devoted to the right of the elderly to participate and engage in the workplace. In order to provide policy recommendations for government departments to expedite the work environment for older people and support their integration into or return to the workplace, this paper investigates the difference of the pension system and older workers policies present in Hong Kong and Japan by secondary research methods. Currently, there are multiple investigations on the older workers’ working reasons and challenges, however, there are …

Impacts Posed By Recreational Marijuana Legalization : A Global Comparison In Jurisdictions With Different Marijuana Control Policies, Weizhou Zhu

SOC 605 Comparative Social Policy Research Project - Student Works

As marijuana legalization is adopted by more and more countries, there have been a lot of debates about its benefits and downsides. Around the world, the majority of countries maintain their illegality, a few are fully open, while some decriminalize or do not enforce the prohibition laws. However, few studies have examined the different impacts brought by district cannabis control policies. This study uses the systematic review method to investigate the impacts of marijuana legalization in 5 domains and compare them on a global basis. A total of 51 articles published between January 2019 to June 2024 were selected. Policy …

Research Into Renewable Energy Technology, Energy Carriers And The Path To A Low-Carbon Future For Suriname, Bryan Michel Ristie

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Liability Of Classification Societies : A Comparative Study With A Focus On Criminal Liability Under The Law Of The Republic Of Korea And Other Jurisdictions, Hyunho Kim

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Digitalization Effects On Women Seafarers In The Era Of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (Mass), Taiwo Oluwatosin Olajide

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Law And Policy For Women’S Empowerment And Participation In The Maritime Sector, Jattu Bridget Koroma

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Environmental Effects Of Abandoned Shipwrecks In Nigeria, Abiodun Ojo Michael

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Managing The Waste Problem From Cargo Ships In The Area Of Ko Aichang, Thailand : The Educator’S Perspective, Thanasorn Siangsai, Rtn.

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transportation Safety In Lake Victoria, Clever Tugume

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Legal Analysis Of Piracy And Armed Robbery At Sea Law In Liberia's Maritime Jurisdictions, Stephen Yekeson Kamara

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Heterogeneous Effects Of Cannabis Dispensaries On Crime: The Importance Of Foot Traffic, Thomas Lebesmuehlbacher, Justin Roush, Rhet A. Smith

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

This paper pairs exact dispensary locations with city block level crime data to study the impact of medical cannabis dispensaries on crime in the state of Florida from 2016-2019. Leveraging a Florida state law that requires broadly uniform security provisions across dispensaries, we capture important dispensary heterogeneity by incorporating customer volume and local non-dispensary foot traffic with smartphone geopositional data. We use not-yet-operational dispensary locations as a control group and a geo-spatial difference-in-differences framework and find reductions in larceny, vehicle burglary, and motor vehicle theft following the opening of high-volume dispensaries. We fail to find evidence of similar deterrent effects …